English Chamber Orchestra

English Chamber Orchestra has been performing across the UK and globally for more than 60 years and is the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world. From its beginning, the orchestra has worked consistently with the most significant musical figures in classical music, starting in 1960 with its first patron Benjamin Britten. ECO celebrates and builds upon its tradition of maintaining the highest international musical standards, nurturing new talent and focusing on the best of British music and musicianship.

The orchestra has toured the UK and abroad with artists such as Benjamin Britten, Daniel Barenboim, Dame Janet Baker, Colin Davis, Placido Domingo, Jacqueline du Pré, Kiri te Kanawa, Yehudi Menuhin, Luciano Pavarotti, Murray Perahia, Itzhak Perlman, André Previn, Karl Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich, Georg Solti, Mitsuko Uchida, Maxim Vengerov and Pinchas Zukerman. Recent tours have included to Bermuda, US, Mexico, Finland, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Austria and Bulgaria, as well as concerts across the UK and at London’s Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Kings Place and Cadogan Hall.  

King Charles III has been Patron of the ECO since 1977 and the orchestra has performed at royal weddings, birthday celebrations and other events, including the first concert ever to be broadcast from Buckingham Palace. The orchestra has also recorded many successful film soundtracks including Dario Marianelli’s prizewinning scores for Atonement and Pride and Prejudice.

The orchestra continues to expand its Close Encounters outreach programme, taking music into communities and schools around the UK and abroad. Recent projects include Thames Music Makers, in conjunction with Hammersmith & Fulham Council at Riverside Studios; Windrush Project, welcoming children from various schools at London Transport Museum; and an event in Calderdale as part of the Culturdale initiative. Since 2019, ECO has been Professional Orchestra in Partnership at Christ’s Hospital School in West Sussex, a collaboration offering side-by-side performance and one-to-one tuition. It also has an ongoing relationship with Tower Hamlets Music Service, establishing a regular presence for the ensemble and building musicians and audiences for the future.